Director, Public Relations

### DEPARTMENT

Communications

### BASIC FUNCTION

Develop messaging and initiatives that raise awareness of ACEP’s impact, priorities, and successes that position ACEP as a champion for emergency physicians and their patients across all communications channels. Develop talking points on critical issues in the specialty for quick and coordinated organizational response to the news of the day. Proactively identify opportunities to advance the organization’s communications priorities and reputation with members and the public. Foster relationships with external communications partners to leverage opportunities for exposure, growth, and collaboration.

### Characteristic Duties and Responsibilities

– Create strategies to improve ACEP’s reputation and brand recognition with members, emergency physicians, and the public by utilizing data to identify key issues for prioritization and positioning ACEP as the most credible and impactful organization in the field. Position ACEP as a thought leader and arbiter of solutions for improving emergency care; prioritizing key issues.

– Create public awareness strategies (earned, owned, and paid) that enable ACEP to cultivate and enhance meaningful relationships with targeted, high-level external audiences, including the national news media, decision makers, and key influencers.

– Proactively develop strategies around media outreach and activate staff and leaders around the coordination and development of press events, press releases, articles, editorials, fact sheets, talking points, letters to the editor, and speeches. Constantly evaluate current events for potential impact on issues surrounding emergency medicine and mobilize staff and leaders by identifying talking points and priority communications channels.

– Be available during off hours to direct rapid response and crisis communications. Lead the development and implementation of ACEP’s crisis communications plan to protect the image of emergency physicians and ACEP. Make decisions and employ tools to target effective solutions to negative news stories, social media crises, and other rapid response type situations.

– Maintain relationships with key reporters, producers, editorial writers, bloggers, and influencers on key content surrounding emergency medicine and ensure ACEP messages and messengers are present across news platforms. Secure earned, owned, and paid media coverage that supports ACEP and positions the College as the go-to voice in emergency medicine and a champion of all emergency physicians.

– Develop and coach a network of ACEP member brand ambassadors able to effectively communicate the story of emergency medicine in a meaningful way to the news media, decision-makers, and the public. Utilize existing systems or new ideas to better harness and track member and patient voices, proactively pitched or reactively provided, in internal and external messaging.

– Develop toolkits for ambassadors, chapters, and other emergency medicine leaders to use to amplify key ACEP messages and ensure consistent messaging across the College.

– Collaborate with the Managing Director of Content & Communications Integration on proactive storytelling efforts, strategic member content and priority leader messaging, and to ensure consistency of messaging between external and internal communications.

– Engage with leaders and members through Committees and Sections to identify important issues/topics, uncover possible sources or emerging trends, and share member’s personal stories, as appropriate.

– Define measurable objectives and monitor performance of efforts to proactively drive consistent messaging and themes, which garner high visibility for ACEP and emergency physicians.

– Work closely with ACEP’s Advocacy team to help promote advocacy campaigns and ensure policymaker reach. Understand key issues and ongoing initiatives, and ensure rapid promotion and positioning of decisions that impact emergency medicine along with ACEP advocacy wins.

– Manage DC communications staff to:
– Conduct media outreach and respond to inquiries.
– Plan regular media training for ACEP’s Board of Directors, senior staff, chapter leaders, and brand ambassadors in communicating with external audiences.
– Push content out across all channels, with message alignment for internal and external audiences.
– Identify communication needs that require outside consulting support, negotiate rates, and manage projects.
– Attend meetings and conduct work as assigned.

### Relationships and Contacts

**Reports to:**
Associate Executive Director, Member Experience

**Supervises:**
Sr. Content Manager, Project Manager

**Internal Contacts:**
Staff in all departments

**External Contacts:**
Media; Board members; ACEP members including the Communications Committee; chapter staff and officers; national medical and health policy reporters; national health, policy, and advocacy organizations, medicine and health care policymakers; corporate senior staff and communications staff; communications directors and senior staff of other associations; chapter executives and leaders; advocacy or political staffers as appropriate.

### Required Education and Experience

– Bachelor’s degree in journalism, communications, public relations, or a related field.
– Eight to ten years’ experience managing public relations campaigns, with an emphasis on media relations.
– Proven ability to lead rapid response efforts to promote and preserve the organization’s reputation.
– Demonstrated ability to initiate and manage complex projects simultaneously; ability to respond successfully under tight deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
– Excellent written and verbal communications skills.
– Experience managing and setting priorities for a team of staff.

### Other Desired Qualifications

– Master’s degree in journalism, communications, public relations, or a related field.
– Familiarity with issues in health-related issues, emergency medicine, and organized medicine.
– Experience working in a membership association.
– Ability to communicate complex medical, legal, or political jargon into layperson’s language.
– Brand management experience.

We are an equal opportunity and E-Verify employer who offers a competitive salary, an excellent benefits package, a retirement plan, and more. If you have questions regarding this position or would like to submit your resume, please contact us at [email protected]